Tag Archives: research analysis

From social to natural and applied sciences, overall scientific output has been growing worldwide – it doubles every nine years.

Traditionally, researchers solve a problem by conducting new experiments. With the ever-growing body of scientific literature, though, it is becoming more common to make a discovery based on the vast number of already-published journal articles. Researchers synthesize the findings from previous studies to develop a more complete understanding of a phenomenon. Making sense of this explosion of studies is critical for scientists not only to build on previous work but also to push research fields forward.

In a systematic review, an author finds and critiques all prior studies around a similar research question. The idea is to bring a reader up to speed on the current state of affairs around a particular research topic.